Transformers: Prime/Characters


Autobots

Optimus Prime/Orion Pax

[1]

You will not prevail, Megatron. Not while energon still flows in my veins.

Voiced by: Peter Cullen

The leader of the Autobots and the last of the Primes. Originally a data clerk named Orion Pax, he formed a friendship with a charismatic gladiator and civil rights leader named Megatronus, and being such a close ally put him on the map to being recognized by the Cybertronian council. Upon becoming Optimus Prime, he and the newly christened Megatron cut ties, becoming fierce rivals with wildly different ideologies. Optimus is a highly accomplished warrior honed by years of conflict, though his natural disposition is a gentle pacifist.

Jack: Hey, Optimus, you wanna see something funny?
Optimus: No.

  • Cool Mask: His faceplate.
  • Criminal Amnesiac: Megatron takes advantage of Optimus losing his memories of the war and tricks him into joining the Decepticons. It doesn't last.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Megatron was his best friend. Wonder how that turned out.
  • The Determinator: He tore through an army of zombies and kept going for Megatron. Megatron even complimented his skill.
  • A Father to His Men
  • Gentle Giant
  • Good Is Not Soft
  • The Hero
  • He's Back: At the end of "Orion Pax, Part 3", Orion Pax's memories are restored and his identity as Optimus Prime resurfaces once more, followed by him giving Megatron a well deserved smackdown.
  • Hurting Hero: Much like in Generation 1, there is an ever-present, dignified sadness in Peter Cullen's performance of Optimus, as if the Great War has affected him so deeply that he is always crying deep inside. Cullen stated in interviews that he drew inspiration from his brother, a Shell-Shocked Veteran of the Vietnam War, who told him before the audition for Optimus "Don't be a tough hero; you are strong enough to be gentle."
  • Ideal Hero
  • It's All My Fault: Whilst he doesn't put it as bluntly, by the series one finale, it is shown that he blames himself for most of what has happened since the Great War ended on Cybertron. Specifically, that he refused to believe that Decepticons would never be able to coexist peacefully with the Autobots, and that there was still hope for Megatron to change his ways, even after his former friend was responsible for the destruction of their home, the spread of the conflict to various other worlds (including Earth) as well as the countless individuals who have died and suffered as a result. Meaning he never took the opportunity to end the conflict for good (by killing Megatron) when he had the chance (according to Ratchet, many chances). He seems to realize how foolish he was (in his own eyes) when Megatron almost kills Raf.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: As of the season finale. He gets better.
  • Large and In Charge: By far the tallest Autobot in the series(though Bulkhead's bigger in overall dimensions, and not that much shorter than Optimus).
  • Last of His Kind: He's the last of the Primes.
  • Martial Pacifist: Optimus's seen everything from comrades dying to atrocities being committed on myriad sentient species who had nothing to do with the war. As such, he always tries to strive for peace, since he's not only seen the alternative, but also wants to protect both humans and Cybertronians, regardless of allegiance. He is, however, not at all reluctant to lay down an ass-beating when it is to protect those weaker than him.
  • Meaningful Rename: Was originally a Cybertronian clerk named Orion Pax before he was granted the title of Prime and was renamed Optimus after receiving the Matrix of Leadership. And when said Matrix is used up to defeat Unicron, he went back to Orion Pax again for a while.
  • The Messiah: Operates at about ten points up the idealism scale from everyone else in the show.
  • Messianic Archetype: Willingly goes to what he expects to be his death in order to save humanity from an ancient evil at the heart of our origins. Unlike most other Optimus Primes, he hasn't actually died yet, but he did lose his memories and identity for a while before regaining them.
  • Nice Guy: You wouldn't be Optimus Prime if you didn't have this trope.
  • One-Man Army: He and Ratchet handily mow down an unending tide of zombie robots in the pilot.
  • Papa Wolf
  • Robo-Family: According to the Transformers Vault this universe's Optimus is a possible descendant of Prima, from the Original Thirteen (described as having a "Primian" polarity). A trait he shares with his Movie incarnation.
  • Standardized Leader: Deliberately invoked, and somewhat deconstructed; it's explicitly stated that all Primes have a similar sort of calm, dignified, slightly sad personality. Carrying the accumulated wisdom of all past Primes in your mind will do that.
  • The Stoic: Bulkhead says he's never seen Optimus laugh, cry, or lose his cool in all the time he's known him.
  • Team Dad
  • Victory-Guided Amnesia: In the finale of Season One, Optimus uses the Matrix of Leadership to put Unicron down at the cost of losing his memory of the Autobot-Decepticon war. Thankfully, he gets better.
  • When He Smiles: Optimus's smiles are rare and small but when he does smile, it lights up his entire face. One noteworthy moment was when he smiled at Raf when both of them were recovering from Megatron's attacks in "One Shall Rise, Part 1".
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist: As Orion Pax, Megatron's protege in the Cybertronian civil rights movement. This ended up endearing him to the general public more than his more ruthless mentor's attitude.
  • Worthy Opponent: Views Dreadwing as one.
  • Would Not Shoot a Civilian

Arcee

[2]

Appreciate you clearing the front door for us, but storming the Decepticon warship was not on the activities list.

Voiced by: Sumalee Montano

A small and nimble fighter with experience as a scout and spy, Arcee is haunted by several events on the Cybertronian Civil War, including losing several partners and being tortured by Airachnid as a POW. She is nonetheless well-respected by her teammates and although she can be impulsive and leave on her own agenda, her first priority is the safety of the team. She is officially the guardian of Jack Darby, and after an initial annoyance with each other, have come to form a powerful bond.

  • Action Girl
  • Adaptational Badass
  • Anti-Hero: Type II.
  • Berserk Button: Bringing up either of her dead partners, or threatening the life of her current one.
  • Blade Below the Shoulder: Her's are forearm-mounted rather than fold-out blades like Optimus and Ratchet's.
  • Breast Plate: Her chest armor.
  • Broken Bird
  • Composite Character: Has the name Arcee, but has the color scheme and general demeanor of G1 Chromia with the alternate mode and loner mentality of Animated Prowl (including the massive size changing). Her backstory involving dead partners is also similar to Animated Ratchet.
  • Cool Bike
  • Cool Big Sis
  • Dead Partner: Her former partners Tailgate and Cliffjumper.
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Doom Magnet: Two out of two of her Cybertronian partners are dead. She's worried the same will happen to Jack.
  • FemBot
  • Fragile Speedster
  • Glass Cannon
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: She has a small blaster, but prefers unarmed combat, even unscrewing a mook's head with her feet.
  • The Lancer
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Not as bad as Miko, but twice it has almost gotten her killed.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In "Partners", Starscream is willing to change sides, but then Arcee nearly kills him for killing Cliffjumper. This causes Starscream to flee and declare himself neutral.
  • Non-Mammal Mammaries: Her chest-plate is curved to the point where it resembles a pair of breasts.
  • The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Towards Airachnid.
  • Pink Means Feminine: A Downplayed Trope, as she is mostly blue, with just touches of pink.
  • Revenge Before Reason: Her obsession with Airachnid is built of this trope. This later also applies to Starscream when she learns that he killed Cliffjumper. By the end of "Partners", she seemed to have put her desire for revenge aside... until "Crossfire" gave her another shot at him.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In "Orion Pax, Part 1", she storms the Nemesis in an effort to find an amnesiac Optimus, killing about ten Vehicons before Soundwave tricks her into taking a GroundBridge out.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: "Predatory" reveals that she has a slight form of PTSD as a result of being tortured under the captivity of Airachnid and witnessing her partner, Tailgate, executed by Airachnid when Arcee could not provide information the Decepticons demanded.
  • Sizeshifter: She's a perfectly normal-sized motorcycle, but far larger than she has any right to be as a robot.
  • Tsundere: Particularly towards the kids.
  • Vocal Evolution: A very minor version and more so related to how the show dove into her backstory than anything really dramatic or intentional (discussed in this interview). In the beginning of the series, Sumalee Montano played Arcee mostly as a "tough girl" kind of character, intense but vulnerable. Later on, she has a lot more of a dry wit and her vocal style changed accordingly.
  • Waif Fu: It may seem odd for a gigantic, heavily armed robot to be using this... but then you see exactly what she can do to the much bigger, nastier Vehicons without breaking a (metaphorical) sweat.
  • Weak but Skilled: The smallest and lightest of all Cybertronians on the show, and often has trouble damaging tougher enemies. She makes up for it by being fast enough to get the drop on Megatron, and skilled enough to take on enemies far outside her weight class for substantial periods of time. She noticeably fights much better in tandem with the other Autobots.

Bumblebee

[3]


The Autobot scout, Bumblebee is one of the last generation of Cybertronians created before the Civil War took hold. He is young but exceptionally skilled, a quick thinker and as brave as anyone can get. His voicebox was damaged in combat years ago, a reminder of the harsh realities of war, and "talks" in a series of beeps and whirls that allows him at least a certain degree of communication with the other Autobots and his human partner Raf Esquivel.

  • Adaptational Badass: The Autobots reinforce that Bumblebee is their Scout (like his G1 character), but that means he is on the front lines quite often and isn't always able to escape without getting into a fight. He has gone up against Breakdown and held his own, and was also responsible for defeating Skyquake.
  • Berserk Button: Harming Raf is a good way to trigger it. On the occasion that Megatron nearly killed Raf, he would have attacked Megatron if not for Bulkhead and Arcee stopping him.
  • Child Soldier: We don't know if he'd really count as a "child" exactly, but he is the youngest member on the team, revealed in the prequel novels as being among the last generation of Cybertronians to be born. In "Masters and Students", it's implied that Bee isn't officially recognized as warrior-class due to his young age.
  • Cool Car: A fictional model of muscle car named the Urbana 500.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Immature, impulsive, one of the least-armed Autobots... and capable of ripping apart a elite Decepticon soldier with his bare servos while riding him. In midair.
    • He also tricks Airachnid into thinking he's immobilized, then punches her out.
  • Cute Bruiser
  • Cute Mute
  • Demonic Possession: By Megatron at the end of "Sick Mind".
  • The Face: He is the youngest of the Autobots and gets along with humans the best.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: Tends to use boxing as his fighting style.
  • The Heart: When Optimus isn't doing his job for him, anyway.
  • Intelligible Unintelligible: He speaks in some sort of machine language due to a damaged voice box. Raf and the Autobots can understand him just fine, but everyone else (viewers included) is out of luck. Raf acts as his Translator Buddy to the rest of the kids.
  • Kid Appeal Character: Bumblebee has traditionally always been one of these, but this incarnation ramps up the connection by pairing him with the youngest member of the cast for a human partner.
  • Winged Humanoid

Ratchet

[4]

I recommend dissection!

Voiced by: Jeffrey Combs

The Autobot Medic, Ratchet is one of Optimus' close friends from before the war even began and has seen the change in his friend. Ratchet is the oldest of the group and generally less excitable and enthusiastic as his teammates or the human kids. Usually grouchy, he is still a good 'Bot at heart and doesn't like to see anyone hurt. He is also generally responsible for the mechanical equipment and he built the ground bridge that allows instantaneous travel around the world, though he admits that he has his limitations in that field.

  • Actor Allusion: He becomes a manic Mad Scientist over the kids' science fair projects. As funny as it sounds.
    • Later on, he tests synthetic energon on himself that leaves him with unexpected results.
  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: In "Stronger, Faster", he was under the influence of experimental synthetic energon and started challenging every Cybertronian he saw to a fight, even calling Bumblebee a wimp for backing down on his offer. It came back to bite him when he tries to take on Megatron and nearly gets killed.
  • Badass Bookworm
  • Badass Grandpa: Despite not having fought in battle since the war, he is by no means "rusty" when it comes to combat.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Saves Arcee from some Vehicons in "Stronger, Faster" and saves Jack from Knock Out after he is cornered onboard the Nemesis.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows
  • Blade Below the Shoulder: Similar to Optimus, but shorter.
  • Catch Phrase: "I needed that!"
    • "Hoo-ah!"
  • Combat Medic: "I recommend dissection."
  • Cool Old Guy
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Defrosting Ice King: Towards the humans.
  • Demonization: Megatron did it to him in "Orion Pax, Part 1", trying to convince Orion Pax that "Warlord Ratchet, the Doctor of Doom" was the true Big Bad. He also claimed that Ratchet did this to the 'Cons, though Orion questioned this news.
  • Dirty Old Man: In "Stronger, Faster". The Psycho Serum didn't just affect his confidence on the battlefield, as he actually hit on Arcee after Bumblebee refused his challenge.
  • Dr. Jerk: As is tradition.
  • Green Eyes: His eye color changes from blue to green whenever he injects himself with synthetic Energon.
  • Grumpy Bear: After Cliffjumper's death, Ratchet makes his opinion clear to Optimus that helping humanity will only result in further Autobot casualties. Optimus merely responds that his opinion is noted. He doesn't seem especially pleased when the human kids are brought back to Autobot base, either, and is insulted by Raf's question of "Who built you?" From then on, he proves to be generally irritable. He does occasionally display moments of kindness, however, as shown when he tries to not upset Miko about Bulkhead's amnesia, and once again when Raf is nearly killed. Here he admits he has found a friend in humanity at last.
  • Grumpy Old Man
  • Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Pulls this on a helpless Decepticon with a welding torch while under the influence of synthetic energon.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he may be grumpy from time to time, he has really warmed up to the humans by "One Shall Fall" and really does care about them, as well as his fellow bots.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Whilst under the influence of the Psycho Serum in "Stronger, Faster". Ended up trying to solo Megatron, with predictable results.
  • The Medic
  • Minored in Asskicking: He usually stays back at base, but he makes a pretty good showing against the Terrorcons.
    • And, in "Stronger, Faster", when he injected himself with synthetic energon and went on what can only be called a "'roid rage", he kicked the asses of damn near every Decepticon soldier thrown at him. It took Megatron to bring him down.
      • Even when Megatron seriously wounded him, he was able to fight Knock Out to a standstill.
  • Mission Control
  • Mr. Exposition
  • My Greatest Failure: "Operation Bumblebee, Part 1" reveals he's never forgiven himself for failing to restore Bumblebee's voicebox after Megatron ripped it out, even though he did manage to save Bumblebee's life.
  • Noble Bigot: Ratchet is one of the few Autobots who won't hesitate to voice his displeasure over nearly everything humans are and create. He especially hates human technology, though he is much nicer to the humans towards the end of Season 1, to the point he is no longer this trope. In Season 2 it's clear that his angry moments are due to the stress.
  • Not That Kind of Doctor: He never bothered to learn about human biology or medicine, and it would have gotten Raf killed if Jack hadn't called in his mom, who is a nurse.
  • Number Two: If Optimus requires an expert opinion on something or someone to coordinate a mission, it's usually Ratchet. While he may appoint one of the other, younger bots to be field leader on missions, they will still defer to Ratchet when he gives them instructions from within the base.
  • Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner: Whenever he enters combat, there's one in the wings.

"I recommend dissection."
"It's alright, I'm an emergency vehicle!"
"I'm here to offer a second opinion!"

  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: On the firing end of one to Optimus in "Stronger, Faster". Ratchet called Optimus soft for losing Cliffjumper and for passing up numerous opportunities to take out Megatron. Though Ratchet's judgment was indeed impaired at the time, it was implied he was saying what he would've normally held back.
  • Retired Badass: It's commented by Arcee that Ratchet hasn't really been in active combat since the war, instead mostly staying at the base, providing medical and technical assistance to the Autobots working in the field. He does have his moments, however, and wishes that he still could do more in spite of his age.
  • Running Gag: "(person's name here), I needed that!"
  • The Smart Guy
  • Worthless Foreign Degree: Ratchet is so proud of his skills as a Cybertronian Doctor that he does not even bother to study any human anatomy or medicine in all the time he spends on Earth. This comes back to haunt him big time when Raf, who he has unwittingly come to care for, is critically wounded by Megatron; the Autobot Doctor panics in desperation, mournfully admitting that he does not even know the first thing to do to save the boy's life thanks to his arrogance.

Bulkhead

[5]

Who's ready to rumble?

Voiced by: Kevin Michael Richardson

A former Wrecker, the Autobot special forces/black ops group, Bulkhead is a tough bruiser and built for combat. Admittedly not the smartest bot, he is so good at breaking things that he doesn't have much room for grace and finesse. Despite that, he is very friendly and partnered with Miko, who helps him develop both his gentle side and learn to unleash his power when necessary.

  • Acrofatic
  • Adorkable
  • Adult Child
  • Alien Arts Are Appreciated: He's a big metal fan. Also a big, metal fan, but that's beside the point.
  • Anti-Hero: Slight shades of Type II every now and then.
  • BFG: His arm cannon is second only to Optimus' in size.
  • Badass Adorable: A giant teddy bear made of metal, he is.
    • Badass in Distress: In "Armada", when he's trapped upon the Nemesis. Though he actually rescues himself by bringing down the Nemesis then driving off.
  • Berserk Button: Don't ever even imply harming Miko in his presence.
    • Also, Starscream or rather, one of his clones, found out the hard way that Arcee is not the only one who will become dangerously angered over being reminded of who killed Cliffjumper. It results in Bulkhead beating him to death.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Despite his kind nature, he's extremely dangerous in combat. Case in point in "Armada" where he beats a Starscream clone to death, and then proceeds to damage the Nemesis to the point of crash-landing.
  • Big Fun
  • The Big Guy
  • Boisterous Bruiser
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Bulkhead is a lovable sweetheart, but he occasionally alludes to his past as a Wrecker with some sadness and regret, as they are charged with the "dirty work" (IE. Assassination) that 'Bots like Optimus can't stain their hands performing.
  • Determinator: Even as his life is being sucked out of him, he manages to punch Starscream in the face. Also when partially chewed up by Scraplets, he was the one to lead them through the ground bridge and let them freeze in the Artic.
    • "Toxicity" is basically one whole episode of him being a Determinator. Wounded, leaking Energon, being poisoned by toxic Energon, pursued by Hardshell, and he just. Won't. Quit. He only gives up when Hardshell shoots him in the back after all of this.
  • Dork Knight
  • Dumb Muscle: He sees himself this way, seemingly. While trying to impress on Miko the importance of education in "Deus ex Machina", he mentions that he was a laborer back on Cybertron (specifically, working in construction), claims that all he's good for is building stuff and breaking it, and wonders why she'd want to be "just like him" when she could be a medic like Ratchet. Regardless, when it comes to fighting smarts, he is second only to Optimus.
  • Gentle Giant
  • Lantern Jaw of Justice
  • Lightning Bruiser: While he doesn't have the speed or acceleration of Arcee and Bumblebee, in robot mode he can move surprisingly fast.
  • Moral Dissonance: Though he's usually an all-around Nice Guy, he has moments of this several times—specifically, in "Speed Metal", deciding to leave Jack's rival Vince to the Decepticons because "the guy's a jerk." Jack calls him out on it.
  • One-Man Army: The core Autobot team's second-most-dangerous combatant. Stands to reason, him being a former Wrecker. Also the only bot (apart from Optimus Prime) to stand up to Megatron while he's on Dark Energon and hold his own.
  • Papa Wolf: Towards Miko, of course.
  • Power Fist
  • Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner: "Operation Bumblebee, Part 2" has a great one after Bulkhead manages to heft the giant even by Cybertronian standards Forge of Solus Prime.

Bulkhead: Hey, Breakdown... Mine's bigger!

Cliffjumper

[6]

You want the horns? You got 'em!

Voiced by: Dwayne Johnson

A born fighter, Cliffjumper doesn't hesitate to get involved with a scuffle and is sometimes antsy when there aren't any 'Cons to scrap. He spent a good deal of time with Arcee, with some implications of a bond that extended beyond simple friends.

Wheeljack

[7]

If you're trying to ruin my day, you're going to have to try harder.

Voiced by: James Horan

Another former Wrecker and close friends with Bulkhead, Wheeljack is very smart and a quick thinker, but prefers to dive into combat head on. After the war, he wandered the universe in search of both old and new friends and got accustomed to that lifestyle, so much that he has hesitations about sticking around on Earth for too long. He intially starts with a disregard of Optimus as a "clean hands" military commander, but comes to gain respect for Optimus' skill and sense of honor.

Tailgate

Voiced by: Josh Keaton

A partner of Arcee during the war on Cybertron, he was captured and killed in front of her by Airachnid.

Seaspray

Voiced by: N/A

A Wrecker and friend to both Wheeljack and Bulkhead, he was killed by Dreadwing and incited Wheeljack to hunt down the 'Con.

Decepticons

  • Aliens Are Bastards
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows
  • Five-Bad Band: A continuously shifting one, though.
    • Big Bad: Megatron; Starscream when Megatron isn't around.
    • The Dragon: Starscream to Megatron, Knock-Out to Starscream, Airachnid, Soundwave and later Dreadwing to Megatron.
      • Wild Card: Dreadwing is an inversion of The Starscream archetype. He is a liability to Megatron's grand plans because he's a fundamentally decent guy whose sense of honor will not allow him to cross certain lines, rather than being a treacherous megalomaniac like his predecessors.
    • Evil Genius: Soundwave for surveillance, Knock-Out as the medic.
    • The Brute: Breakdown, Skyquake, Dreadwing, Hardshell.
    • Dark Chick/Sixth Ranger: Airachnid (Enjoys her own agenda too much, she doesn't seem particularly excited to rejoin the other 'Cons). Also, Makeshift, for lack of a better option.
  • Mechanical Lifeforms
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot
  • The Noseless
  • The Psycho Rangers: Each of the primary Decepticons (with the exception of Starscream) are counterparts to the primary Autobots, with Megatron (obviously) being Optimus's, Soundwave for Bumblebee, Airachnid for Arcee, Breakdown for Bulkhead, and Knock Out for Ratchet, even sharing similar positions.
    • It could be argued before Airachnid joined the fold, position, body type, and combat style suggest Starscream was Arcee's counterpart. ( Starscream left the ranks shortly after Airachnid joined.) Soundwave could also be Ratchet's counterpart as the mission control guy, and Knock Out to Bumblebee as the sports car usually partnered with the team muscle.
  • Shapeshifter Weapon: In the same style as the Autobots.
  • Transforming Mecha

Megatron/Megatronus/D-16

[9]

Megatron is commanded by NO ONE!

Voiced by: Frank Welker

The leader of the Decepticons, he was originally a miner named D-16 who competed in the Gladiator Arena in Kaon. Proving popular with the crowd, he took the name "Megatronus" and later "Megatron", then started gathering followers as he talked about eliminating the caste system that prevented lower level individuals such as himself from becoming anything more than a miner. This got the attention of Iacon data clerk Orion Pax, who supported his cause and gave him the opportunity to address the Cybertronian council. But his demands of becoming a Prime showed his true colors and when Orion became Optimus Prime, Megatron vowed to take control of Cybertron itself, killing their world in the process.

  • Animal Motifs: Megatron's grey color scheme and fangs make him look rather shark-like.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: He's one of most powerful members of the cast, tied only with Optimus, if their fights with each other are any indication.
    • Asskicking Equals Authority: His backstory is that he was a former gladiator on Cybertron who fought his way up to leading the Decepticons.
  • Arch Enemy: To Optimus.
  • Arm Cannon/BFG: Mostly due to tradition, it's one of the only non-Shapeshifter Weapons in the series.
  • Ax Crazy
  • Badass: One of the very few things that was inherited from War For Cybertron... with considerable interest, at that. By the second season, it's pretty clear that he's one of the most dangerous Cybertronians alive.
  • Bad Boss: Another tradition. He was fully willing to leave Breakdown to rot because he got captured by humans, and had Knock Out test a shield generator by shooting at him.
  • Big Bad
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows
  • Blade Below the Shoulder
  • Classic Villain: Ambition and Wrath.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Gladiators fight dirty if they want to survive to the next match, after all.
  • Composite Character: This version of Megatron takes visual cues from both Generation 1(the ever-famous buckethead and lower legs resembling and has a pistol's handgrip) and the movies(the sharp angles and bits on his shoulders, along with two-toed feet and a demonic-looking face with sharp shark-like teeth), even including the latter's alt mode in the first film.
  • Cool Plane: A Cybertronian jet, to be exact. Similar to the original form of his Movie counterpart.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Considering that the only way he could find freedom from the back-breaking slavery of the mines was by ripping other robots limb-from-limb in the gladiatorial pits, Megatron never had a positive view on life to begin with.
  • Death Glare: Delivers an unblinking (and nightmare-inducing) one to Starscream at the end of Rock Bottom.
  • Demonic Possession: Pulls it on Bumblebee at the end of "Sick Mind".
    • Is very briefly at the receiving end of one by Unicron in "One Shall Rise, Part 3.
  • Demoted to Dragon: Played with. When Unicron shows up, Megatron wants this to happen, to better further his own agenda, but Unicron views Megs as beneath him.
  • Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: As he claims, no one, not even Unicron the Chaos Bringer, commands him.
  • Evil Former Friend: To Optimus. They used to be as close as brothers... and then the Council shot him down for position of Prime. Cue war.
  • Evil Is Bigger: Like previous recent incarnations, this Megatron also has a bit of a noticeable size advantage over Optimus.
  • Evil Mentor: As Megatronus, to Orion Pax, before the beginning of the Great War. It seems Megatron is quite eager to resume his mentoring when Optimus reverts back into Orion Pax and loses his memories of being a Prime, and more importantly, his enmity with Megatron.
  • Evil Overlord
  • Evil Sounds Deep: As a result of Vocal Evolution.
  • Fallen Hero: The founder and former leader of the Cybertronian civil rights movement, desiring to be named the next Prime until a certain 'bot named Orion Pax inadvertently hijacked it from under him. It's possible that he had evil intentions from the start, but his ego descended the movement from civil rights to anarchy.
  • Fangs Are Evil
  • Fantastic Racism: He seems to detest humans (even moreso than normal for a Decepticon) and refuses to believe that they could ever pose a threat to a worthy warrior. This disdain is part of the reason why he keeps his Cybertronian jet mode instead of adapting an Earth-vehicle disguise.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: To think he was once a rebellious gladiator in Cybertron's underground...
  • Genre Savvy: He tolerates disobedience to a certain extent, but he doesn't tolerate betrayal. But on the flip side, if he thinks you are still of use, he will keep you around until he feels that he no longer needs you.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: The scars on his face show that his combat history is very evident.
  • Guttural Growler
  • He Who Fights Monsters: When the war started, he was a rebellious gladiator who wanted to get rid of the unfair system that ruled Cybertron. However, he became convinced that he was the rightful ruler of Cybertron (desiring to be named the next Prime) and became the megalomaniac warmonger we know today.
  • Hearing Voices: After injecting himself with Dark Energon, Unicron speaks to him.
  • Kaleidoscope Eyes
  • Large and In Charge: Much like previous incarnations, he's one of the most noticeably huge individual Transformers and still just a bit larger than Optimus Prime.
  • Large Ham: Though downplayed from that of a certain other Megatron, he still has his moments. He can pull it off and still come across as terrifying, though.
  • Light Is Not Good: Watch how bright his armor glows when he fights Optimus.
  • Meaningful Name: He was originally a Cybertronian miner going by the designation D-16, and in the Gladiator Arena he took on the name of one of the original Thirteen Primes, Megatronus (later to be known as The Fallen). He shortened his name to Megatron when he started gathering political allies and tried to be named a Prime.
  • NameTron
  • Necromancer
  • Not Quite Dead: Is believed to have been killed when the Space Bridge explodes, but found to have survived due to the Dark Energon inside him in the next episode. However, he is so damaged that the Decepticons have to place him in stasis lock while they repair him.
  • The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: To Optimus, though he's liberal in his interpretation. Apparently, so long as he ordered it, it counts.
    • In "Sick Mind", this is how Bumblebee convinces him to give the Autobots the cure to the plague Optimus has contracted: There's no point in Optimus dying if Megatron can't watch it. To his credit, Megatron doesn't completely fall for the ruse, insisting that Bumblebee help him in return.
    • In "One Shall Fall", when Optimus is raiding the Nemesis alone, Megatron forbids any Decepticon to attack him and even orders Soundwave to open a bridge for Optimus to allow him to battle his eternal rival.
    • He also feels that he's the only one worthy of conquering the Earth, as shown in "One Shall Rise", where after Unicron rejects his offer of an alliance, he allies with the Autobots to defeat him.
  • Power Glows: After injecting himself with Dark Energon, his joints and eyes glow with purple energy whenever he's actively using it.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: Life will always be a gladiator pit for Megatron, one way or another.
  • Psychotic Smirk: Does it to Starscream frequently.
  • Purple Is Powerful: Most prominently with his Dark Energon-influenced eyes, but his armor is also partially purple as well.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Back when he was a gladiator fighting for civil rights, his eyes were blue. But when his ambitions were exposed in front of the ruling council, they turned red.
  • The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Back on Cybertron, he was the Malcom X to Optimus's Martin Luther King, and It Got Worse from there. A lot worse.
  • Satisfied Street Rat: He wears his life as "a gladiator from the pits of Kaon" as a badge of pride in spite of the fact he was a slave because of it.
  • Slasher Smile: Perhaps the foremost expert in the show. The teeth help.
  • Spikes of Villainy
  • The Stoic: He came off as this in "Armada", as nothing seemed to faze him.
  • Tin Tyrant: His plating invokes this.
  • Vocal Evolution: Frank Welker's return to the role prompted a newer version of the voice which is much less screechy, and more quiet and menacing. He even admitted that the classic Megatron voice did not allow much range, while this voice allows him to be both reserved and bombastic at different times.
  • Would Hurt a Child: In "One Shall Fall", he shoots Bumblebee,who was transporting Raf at the time, almost killing the boy. When Megatron finds out, he's downright pleased that he managed to "swat a bee and squash a bug".
  • Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Completely averted for once. This Megatron has no tolerance for treachery, as Starscream and Airachnid find out.
  • Wreathed in Flames: When using Dark Energon, he approaches this look, but he really goes into it when Unicron takes control of him (probably a reference to The Fallen).
  • You Have Failed Me...: Megatron does not take failure lightly.

Starscream

[10]

I am no stranger to ambition.

Voiced by: Steve Blum

Originally neutral in the civil war, Starscream found himself enticed by the power Megatron commanded and wished to acquire it for himself, rising in the ranks to eventually become Megatron's second-in-command. Trusted with a lot of the fine details of commanding and organizing the troops, Starscream is not quite satisfied with the delegated power he has and wants complete control. But he knows that he could never challenge Megatron on a physical level, so bides his time.

  • Actor Allusion: A sadistic warlord who takes pleasure in shoving his fingers into the rib-cages of helpless prisoners that's voiced by Steve Blum? Sounds a lot like Shin.
  • Adaptational Badass: He's the most competent Starscream in the entire Transformers multiverse by a significant margin, second only to his Cybertron and Bayverse incarnations.
  • Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Type 2 during "Rock Bottom", courtesy of Megatron, who is tired of Starscream's crap, placing his cannon to his head and preparing to get rid of him. Luckily for Starscream, the Autobots show up and give Megatron other things to think about.
  • Arm Cannon
  • Armor of Invincibility: As of "Triangulation", Starscream is in possession of a nigh-invulnerable suit of Apex Armor, one of the Iacon relics.
  • Bad Boss: Better than Megatron, but that's a given in any case.
  • Berserk Button: Don't insinuate that he's not in charge. Cliffjumper found this out the hard way, and Wheeljack would have met the same fate if Soundwave hadn't restrained Starscream. Likewise, Starscream almost kills Agent Fowler if not for Soundwave.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows
  • Break the Haughty: The second half of Season 1, and Operation Bumblebee.
  • The Chew Toy: His life slowly falls apart over the entire course of the first season, and nearly all of it is completely his fault.
  • Clipped-Wing Angel: In "Shadowzone", Starscream boasts about his power after imbuing himself with Megatron's original shard of Dark Energon and facing down a squad of Autobots by himself. He immediately gets his arm blown off and is sent scrambling for a rescue GroundBridge.
  • Combat Pragmatist: When Arcee tries to get him to agree to a fair fight, he refuses and begs for mercy... so she'll get close enough for him to cause her serious wounds before actually fighting.
    • Also, he kills two Vehicon guards when sneaking aboard the Nemesis by trying to slow them with dialogue, then shooting one and impaling another through the head.
  • Combat Stilettos: A design choice that has not gone unnoticed in the fandom. Its presence is downplayed through specific camera angles, though.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: His punishment of Knock Out is to scratch his car finish.
  • Cool Plane: Based on the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
  • Dangerous Deserter: Since the events in "Partners".
  • Dirty Coward: Particularly and especially when he hasn't got a shipful of heavily armed Decepticons backing him up.
  • The Dragon
  • Evil Gloating: It actually gets him in trouble when fighting the Autobots, as he enjoys it too much without actually finishing the job of escape or destruction. Both Arcee and Bumblebee got back at him for that.
  • Expressive Wings: In "Rock Bottom".
  • Fantastic Racism: He doesn't think much of ground-based alternate modes. "Yes, right, you're one of those."
  • Faux Affably Evil
  • Genre Savvy: Works out that while he could leave Megatron to die in the rock pile, the Decepticon leader has survived much worse, meaning it was better for him to try saving him instead.
    • Dangerously Genre Savvy: Knowing that his clones share his treacherous qualities, he terminates the one that returns before it can betray him.
    • While it was more than a little too late, in "Triangulation", he realized that Optimus and Dreadwing had a plan just before they defeated him.
  • Glowing Eyes of Doom: Both in red and purple.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: He's been left with a slash on his face, just below his left eye, after his encounter with Arcee in "Partners" when she tried to kill him. He even comments on it when he introduces himself to Silas, who has some facial scars of his own.
  • Guttural Growler
  • The Heavy: For most of season 1 until Megatron's return.
  • Deadly Change-of-Heart: He tries to join the Autobots during "Partners", but Arcee tries to kill him after discovering that he killed Cliffjumper. He winds up striking out on his own instead.
  • Hero-Killer: He murdered Cliffjumper.
  • He's Back: Looks like that time he took off at the end of Season 1 has done him some good; "Orion Pax, Pt. 1" shows him managing to sneak back onboard the Nemesis to make off with some pilfered Energon Cubes, and along the way, brutally murder the two Vehicons guarding said Cubes.
  • How the Mighty Have Fallen: In season 2. See Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain below.
  • Hypocritical Humor: When Bulkhead, who can't fight back due to holding a collapsing cave ceiling up, tells him he's not going to beg for mercy, Starscream nervously agrees that begging would be rather pathetic. Mere minutes earlier, Starscream was begging for his life with Megatron's cannon to his head.
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Ever since losing his ability to transform thanks to MECH taking his T-Cog, Starscream is now little more than a bum that scavenges for energon scraps and sells information to Autobots in exchange for medical treatment.
    • As of "Triangulation", not anymore. He now has a set of indestructible armor that he used to pound Dreadwing and Optimus half to death, and both are easily among the strongest Cybertronians alive.
  • The Informant: His role in season 2, selling information to the Autobots in exchange for medical treatment.
  • Insistent Terminology: "It! is! 'LORD'!"
  • Irony: In "Operation Bumblebee, Part 2", Starscream mocked Bumblebee with his lost T-Cog and how being unable to transform must have been a terrible experience. Upon destroying it and being subjected to dissection by MECH following, he finds his own T-Cog missing.
  • Kaleidoscope Eyes
  • Kick the Dog: Oh, where to start...
  • Kneel Before Zod
  • Lantern Jaw of Injustice: It may even rival Animated Screamer's chin!
  • Large Ham: While it's mostly downplayed, he does get his moments.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: After almost ruining Bumblebee's T-Cog, he has his own removed by MECH.
  • Lean and Mean
  • Mad Scientist: Traits of it in "Armada".
  • Mister Big: Sort of. He's still a giant robot, and no shorter than the average Vehicon. Still, when compared to everyone else, especially Megatron and Optimus, he really isn't all that imposing.
  • The Napoleon
  • No One Could Survive That: Optimus and Dreadwing both write him off as scrap after Dreadwing detonated a series of bombs that sent Starscream plummeting through the Antarctic ice. Of course, he was wearing the Apex Armor at the time.
  • Won't Work On Me: Once he gains the Apex Armor, he casually shrugs off everything Optimus and Dreadwing could throw at him.
  • Pet the Dog: Starscream may have no sense of honor, but it appears he is not without a sense of gratitude, as shown when he repays Arcee's mercy towards him in Season 1 by sparing her life when he could have killed her instead.
  • Psychotic Smirk: He rarely isn't doing it.
    • Slasher Smile: A couple of those few times that he isn't doing it, it's because he's graduated to this instead.
  • Puppy Dog Eyes: For a backstabbing psychopath, he's disturbingly effective at this. Case in point.
  • Put on a Bus: Disappeared for a time after "Partners" and The Bus Came Back in the season 2 premiere.
  • Red and Black and Evil All Over
  • Send in the Clones: He does this, in an effort to assassinate Megatron. It almost works, but Bulkhead kills a clone that gets too arrogant; three more find Megatron, but are killed after Airachnid's Insection attack distracts them. The last tries turning on the original and gets brutally dispatched.
  • Self-Stitching: In the beginning of "Triangulation" when he tries to put the T-Cog he recovered from his clone into himself.
  • Shapeshifter Mode Lock: MECH stole his T-Cog and left him stuck in robot mode for a time.
  • Slouch of Villainy
  • Smug Snake: A legitimately threatening antagonist, but still not nearly as smart, charismatic, or deadly as he thinks he is. Part of this is the rest of the Decepticons know it, and thus undermines the actual talents he has as a leader.
  • The Sociopath
  • Spanner in the Works: Unknowingly, to Megatron's attempts to deceive Orion Pax. Megatron told Orion that Starscream is dead. When Starscream snuck aboard the Nemesis and came across Orion, he refered to him as Optimus Prime. Needless to say, a dead bot calling you by another name was the first dent in Megatron's deception and if not for his sudden appearance and subsequently passing information to the Autobots about the Space Bridge, Optimus would likely have remained Orion Pax.
  • The Starscream: He's a great deal subtler about this than the other fellow, blurring the line between this and the Bastard Understudy at times.
    • By the end of the first season, he's seems genuinely humbled and willing to give up his treachery and declare his Undying Loyalty to Megatron, until he is betrayed by Airachnid and captured by the Autobots, then nearly killed by Arcee which convinces him to ditch both sides.
  • Take a Third Option: After becoming a pariah to the Decepticons and not being welcomed into the Autobots as a form of revenge, Starscream basically says "screw the both of them" and decides to be part of neither faction.
  • Tempting Fate: Starscream probably shouldn't have gloated too much about his ability to transform to Bumblebee before he flew back to Silas.
  • Too Clever by Half
  • Took a Level in Badass: Things finally seem to go his way in "Triangulation", as he obtains the Apex Armor, which basically makes him nigh-invulnerable.
  • Torture Technician
  • Twin Telepathy: Of a sort. Starscream feels all of the pain his clones experience. This does not dissuade him from killing the last one before he could betray him.
  • Villain Team-Up: With MECH in "Operation Bumblebee". It doesn't end well for him.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Had one after Megatron's return.
  • Villainous Rescue: Saves Arcee from Airachnid in "Crossfire".
  • Weak but Skilled: He can't take a hit and his striking power has never been shown to be particularly impressive either. However, he is a Combat Pragmatist with enough skill and cunning to rise up to leader of the Decepticons.
  • Wild Card: It's stated that while Megatron is crazy and genocidal, he is still predictable in that way. Starscream, on the other hand, flip-flops between competent and incompetent so much that he is generally the one to be more careful around.
  • Winged Humanoid

Soundwave

[11]

"Must bear witness".

One of Megatron's early followers and a fellow gladiator of Kaon, Soundwave is absolutely loyal to Megatron, providing communication and technical skills that gives Megatron's strategies a precise edge. While capable of talking, he prefers to stay quiet and observant, talking only by repeating certain phrases back to explain his point. His extreme compentence and significant skill give any troops with delusions of grandeur (such as Starscream) second thoughts.

  • Badass: Completely curbstomped Airachnid when she tried to take command.
    • He also managed to force Arcee off the Nemesis after her Roaring Rampage of Revenge begin. How? He simply ground bridged her out, for the reason that Megatron needed her removed non-violently in order to keep Orion Pax on his side. He didn't even have to lift a finger to do so.
    • To say nothing of when he fought Wheeljack and won. To clarify, Wheeljack has never lost a fair fight to anyone else up until now.
      • To further put this in perspective, it means Soundwave fared better against Wheeljack than Dreadwing did.
    • It says something when somebody as ambitious and backstabbing as Starscream is scared of you. If you believe the prequel novels, this is for good reason- Soundwave only lost his fight with the then-gladiator Megatron because the fight was "first to wound" and he would likely have taken Megatron down with him.
  • Beware the Quiet Ones: Don't be fooled by his background appearances and slow-moving nature. He delivers a Curb Stomp Battle to Airachnid when she tries to usurp Megatron's command in "One Shall Rise, Part 3". The only step he takes in the entire fight is on her head. This causes Knock Out to quote the trope almost word for word.
  • The Blank
  • Combat Pragmatist: Calls in Laserbeak to stun Airachnid when she's about to get back up.
  • Combat Tentacles: Yet another callback, though he prefers radio telescopes to satellites this time around.
    • And he's able to pick Wheeljack up with one of them and throw him around. By the head.
  • Cool Plane: A Predator drone, to be exact.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Despite not even talking.
  • Detachment Combat: His chest-mounted Deployer, Laserbeak (which finally got named in Triage).
  • The Dragon: While he's mainly the Evil Genius of the group, he is also the most loyal to Megatron, having personally thwarted several attempts to depose of or abandon his leader. Although several other Decepticons take the official title of First Lieutenant, Soundwave is comfortable enough in his own position to not care.
  • The Dreaded: By the other Decepticons, funnily enough, and for good reason.
  • Enigmatic Minion
  • Eva Fins
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The one individual he properly cares for is Laserbeak (or so it would seem so far).
  • Evil Genius: Shares this role with Knock Out, though he specializes in espionage and surveillance.
  • The Faceless
  • Feels No Pain: His fight with Wheeljack strongly implies this. He barely reacts when his visor (for all we know, it may as well be the closest thing he has to a face) is cracked, or when Wheeljack's swords and blaster hit him. Even being tackled off the side of a cliff doesn't do much more than briefly shake him.
    • Could be justified by his gladiator background.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: Soundwave doesn't fight or talk much, but is feared by almost everyone. Megatron would not be nearly as effective without Soundwave's eye for detail and Starscream knew he couldn't replace Megatron without gaining Soundwave's approval. Airachnid learned first hand not to cross him.
  • Ironic Echo: Almost all of his "dialogue".
  • Lean and Mean
  • Nerves of Steel
  • Number Two: To Megatron.
  • Only Sane Man: He's so far the only Decepticon who isn't a backstabber, megalomaniac, egocentral narcissist, a sadistic sociopath or a "speciesist" toward humans.
  • Pet the Dog: He passes up an opportunity to kill Wheeljack in order to try and save Laserbeak from Ratchet putting a virus in him. Earlier in the series, he also permits Starscream to confess and vow to start afresh, despite the two of them not agreeing for obvious reasons.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: Actively shies away from Dog Kicking. So far, this policy has worked very well for him.
  • Retired Badass: This silent and unassuming bot was once a gladiator who almost killed Megatron in the arenas of Kaon. Yes, the same Megatron who can go toe-to-toe with Optimus Prime. Let that sink in for a moment.
    • As the scuffle with Airachnid at the end of season one showed, he hasn't lost his touch.
  • Silent Antagonist: He "speaks" by replaying clips of other characters' voices.
    • The Quiet One: According to Word of God, he can talk, but simply chooses not to.
    • The Voiceless: So far; the character profiles released indicate he has stopped talking with his own voice almost completely since coming to Earth. Instead, he just plays clips of other people talking to get his point across.
  • Silent Snarker: Especially towards Starscream.
  • Sinister Surveillance/The Spymaster: Essentially his primary purpose. He rarely gets involved in combat, but serves as the Decepticons' "eyes and ears".
  • This Is a Drill: He can use his tentacles as this, whether for digging or for offense.
  • Tron Lines
  • Undying Loyalty: To Megatron.

Knock Out

[12]

Doctor in the house.

Voiced by: Daran Norris

A skilled Decepticon fighter and doctor, Knock Out is very particular about his specifications and appearance, chosing a muscle car alt mode because he prefered the look. Regardless, he is perfectly capable of mixing it up in a fight and provides a precision strike while his close friend and partner Breakdown provides the muscle.

  • Actor Allusion: Timmy's dad had an unhealthy obsession with a red sports car, and hey, he's always been Ambiguously Gay at best. Guess what Knock Out transforms into and what sort of character he's like.
  • Affably Evil
  • Agent Peacock
  • Alien Arts Are Appreciated: Unusual amongst the xenophobic Decepticons, he's a big fan of human automobiles. In fact, he seems to be oddly tolerant towards humans in general. Wrecking a jerkish street-racer's car because the guy keyed his vehicle mode was a massive overreaction, yes, but compared to what any other Decepticon would have done in the circumstances, it was practically a slap on the wrist.
  • Ambiguously Gay: As if his fixation on his appearance and effete mannerisms weren't enough, there's how he wolf whistles and then compliments Optimus's body work.
  • Badass Bookworm
  • Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted on a few occasions. Starscream's punishment for him is essentially to scratch his skin in "Speed Metal", and everything in Tunnel Vision... see Humiliation Conga below.
  • Berserk Button: Damage to his paint job. Knock Out gets quite irate when a street racer keys his finish (see above), and then later in "T.M.I.", when Bulkhead paints part of the formula for synthetic Energon on him, it only serves to make Knock Out angrier.
  • Brilliant but Lazy
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Starscream is noticeably offset by Knock Out's vanity, but the good doctor is a very capable medic and fighter, forming a dangerous duo with Breakdown. In his introductory episode, he nearly takes down Optimus Prime himself.
    • In "Tunnel Vision", he fought Arcee one-on-one for a few minutes until Vogel hit him with his sweeper train.
  • Butt Monkey: No matter what happens, his paint job will almost always get damaged. He also gets little to no respect from most of his own subordinates, and gets a bomb in the face in "Triage". Second to Starscream, Megatron seems to give him no respect.
  • Buzzsaw Good: Makes use of a circular buzzsaw deployed from his hand as one of his "surgical" tools.
  • Combat Medic
  • Cool Car: In fact, he picked his vehicle mode entirely based on its aesthetics.
  • Deadly Doctor
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Disproportionate Retribution: He ran a guy off the road just for scratching his paint job.
    • To say nothing of wanting to decapitate Bulkhead just for getting an additional coat of paint on it (of course, he and Breakdown were basically ordered to do so by Megatron beforehand, but Knock Out was really insistent about it after that happened).
  • The Dragon: When Starscream was in charge, he made an offer to help Starscream with his ambitions. Though since Megatron's return, he seems perfectly happy there too.
  • Evil Genius: Shares this role with Soundwave, though he specializes in Cybertronian biology and science.
  • The Fighting Narcissist
  • Humiliation Conga: In "Tunnel Vision", he gets hit by Vogel's train twice and has his paint job utterly wrecked. To say nothing of the pain he had from the injuries and the annoyance of being partnered with an Insecticon.
  • The Medic
  • Minor Injury Overreaction: He does not take damage to his appearance kindly.

"You painted my paint job! Prepare for surgery!"

Breakdown

[13]

Never run when you can fight.

Voiced by: Adam Baldwin

A long time rival to Bulkhead, Breakdown is a tough bot whose loyalty to the Decepticons stems mostly from allowing him more opportunities to fight. When it comes to the actual Decepticon cause, he stands out as an enigma who doesn't care too much about it. A close friend of Knock Out's, they form a dangerous team and like to go off on their own agendas.

  • Adaptational Badass/Took a Level in Badass: In almost every Transformers continuity, Breakdown is a paranoid Dirty Coward who would rather flee than fight. He used to be like this in the universe of this series as well, but at present, he's, well...
  • Anti-Villain: There are hints that Breakdown is a Decepticon because of opportunity only and has his own sense of loyalty and honor, even having a certain degree of respect for Bulkhead as his rival.
  • Arch Enemy: To Bulkhead. Lampshaded by Miko.
  • Benevolent Boss: To his subordinates. In "Orion Pax, Part 2", when Fowler posing as a Vehicon gives his fake report, Breakdown says to keep up the good work and comments about how the job can be thankless.
  • Boisterous Bruiser
  • The Brute
  • Drop the Hammer: Transforms from his hand; for use in those CQB-type situations that don't require high explosives.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: In "Operation: Breakdown"; after Bulkhead saves him from MECH, he is clearly grateful to the Autobot warrior, and was visibly reluctant to turn on him when given a direct order to do so by Starsceam.
  • Eyepatch of Power: After getting one of his optics ripped out by MECH.
  • Eyes of Gold
  • Family-Unfriendly Death
  • Four-Fingered Hands
  • Grand Theft Me: Looks like Silas seems primed to appropriate Breakdown's corpse as a new body, given the irreversible damage to his own.
  • Hand Cannon: Carries around a giant, quad-barreled pistol that shoots missiles. Tragically, it's only appeared in the comic so far.
  • Killed Off for Real: When MECH discovers him, he's been completely sliced to pieces by Airachnid.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: He enjoys rushing into a fight, even against Starscream's orders, he helped stage an ambush against the Autobots with Knock Out in "Speed Metal." It's ultimately what got him killed by ignoring Dreadwing's advice.
  • Love At First Punch/Minion Shipping: His first encounter with Airachnid involves them trying to beat the crap out of each other. This does not stop him from mentioning a couple of episodes later how "intriguing" he finds her.
    • Ship Sinking: Though it didn't stop Breakdown from being eager to pound Airachnid to scrap for taunting him. And if that wasn't enough, she kills him.
  • Nightmare Fetishist: Airachnid's extra arms and psychopathic sadism do nothing to dissuade his interest.
  • Noble Demon: Even though he's a Decepticon, Breakdown possesses the decidedly un-villain-like qualities of honor and respect for his enemies, not to mention gratitude and kindness towards those who serve under him. His rivalry with Bulkhead also seems quite respectful.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy
  • Sacrificial Lion: A rare villainous version, as killing him was the sign that Airachnid was cutting ties with the Decepticons.
  • Soul Jar: What his corpse might become for Silas' consciousness when the MECH leader is brutally injured by having Nemesis Prime dropped on top of him.
  • Shoulder Cannon
  • Those Two Bad Guys: With Knock Out.
  • Token Good Teammate: He actually seems to care about his subordinates, has some sense of honor, and generally avoids kicking the dog. It says something that he is this despite his boisterous attitude and disregard for humans.

Airachnid

[14]

But don't get me wrong--I fully intend to snuff out your Spark. And believe me, I will make it hurt. But that won't compare to the pain you'll feel knowing I'm adding your human to my collection.

Voiced by: Gina Torres

During the war on Cybertron, Airachnid basically operated as a third party, holding no allegiences. As the Decepticons are all for wanton destruction, she allies with them just so she can continue her sick games. After capturing and torturing Arcee, they have a rivalry that has only grown with each encounter.

  • All Webbed Up
  • Arachnid Appearance and Attire
  • Arch Enemy: To Arcee.
  • Ax Crazy
  • The Beastmistress: She can control Insecticons and later found an entire hive of them.
  • Black Helicopter: Gains one as an alt-mode in "Crisscross".
  • Breast Plate: Standard for female Transformers.
  • Collector of the Strange
  • Combat Stilettos
  • Composite Character: She's a female Transformer initially allied with the Decepticons and has a spider-like form, making her somewhat similar to Blackarachnia... however, those are where the similarities end. Her personality is far closer to characters like Lockdown and Tarantulas, with a little bit of the Predator thrown in.
  • Dangerous Deserter: Implied to be this after the War For Cybertron. Becomes one again following the events of "Crossfire" - with emphasis on the 'dangerous'.
  • Dark Action Girl
  • Dark Chick
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • The Dragon: She was gunning for second-in-command and bringing her in direct confrontation with Starscream and even inspiring him to cut ties with the Decepticons. Which is nothing short of amazing, since she partly caused Starscream's loss, which royally pissed off Megatron at the time. However, when she tells everyone to run off and leave the Earth (and by extension Megatron) to die, Soundwave effortlessly defeats her and prevents her attempt to usurp authority, which is later the reason Megatron decides she wasn't worth the hassle.
  • Egomaniac Hunter
  • Everything's Better with Spinning: She can do some good tricks and attacks with her legs spinning.
  • Expy: Of Blackarachnia and Lockdown.
  • Faux Affably Evil
  • Fatal Flaw: The main reason she's a Smug Snake is her sadism being matched only by her arrogance. As such, without fail, Airachnid will celebrate early when things are going her way, no matter how many times her addiction to Evil Gloating has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
  • Femme Fatalons
  • For the Evulz: Commits genocide for fun.
  • Hand Blast: She uses her blasters and webs this way.
  • Hero-Killer: She killed Tailgate.
  • Ineffectual Loner: Inverted. She works much better as a solo operative than in the Decepticons.
  • Knight of Cerebus: She's pretty much the only Decepticon who doesn't have any redeeming moments (Megatron was revealed to be a case of He Who Fights Monsters, Starscream got a Pet the Dog moment with Arcee in Crossfire, Dreadwing is honorable, Soundwave is pragmatic and cares about Laserbeak, etc) or comedic traits.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: In "Metal Attraction", her stated goal for getting the polarity gauntlet is to have an edge if the Decepticons try to force her to rejoin. By the end of the episode, she's been magnetized to Breakdown, who takes her back to Megatron as a consolation prize, forcing her to rejoin.
    • In Armada, she uses a legion of Insecticons to try and take down Megatron, which releases them from stasis pods. During her fight with Arcee, she gets trapped inside one and frozen.
  • Loners Are Freaks: Even the other Decepticons are weirded out by her.
  • Meaningful Name: Her name is Airachnid and she has a helicopter alt mode, as well as spider-like features in her other forms.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Megatron thinks that Airachnid has done this by leaving Starscream with the Autobots, thereby giving them access to all the information held by the Decepticon second-in-command. Megatron is not happy.
  • The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Towards anyone she designates as her prey, but especially Arcee.
  • The Peter Principle: She was an excellent, terrifying solo operative, and her superiors rewarded her appropriately. Unfortunately, those skills didn't translate very well to commanding a Decepticon warship, especially since she's spent several thousand years out of the loop.
  • Poisonous Person
  • Psycho for Hire: Only worked with the Decepticons during the war for her own sadistic kicks.
  • Purple Eyes
  • Robo-Family: It's implied that she and the Insecticons have a familiar connection. All There in the Manual states that most Cybertronians descends from one of the Thirteen Original Primes and each has acquired a unique characteristic. Arachnid and the Insecticons are likely from the unnamed Beast Prime lineage.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In "Crisscross", she calls off her rematch with Arcee and Jack and runs for it when Fowler's forces show up.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: As of "Armada", Airachnid is locked up in a stasis pod and a prisoner of the Autobots.
  • Sixth Ranger
  • Smug Snake: Like Starscream, she's a legitimately threatening and dangerous antagonist. But unlike Starscream, she seems to be forgetful of her limitations; specifically, that she is far from being amongst the top tier of the Decepticon hierarchy in terms of power. Soundwave quickly reminds her of this fact.
  • Spell My Name with an "S": Her toy is reportedly being released as "Airracchnid" for trademark reasons.
  • Spider Limbs
  • Spider People: She's basically a robotic Drider.
  • The Starscream: Since the Trope Namer defected, she has been trying to seep more power from Megatron. During "One Shall Rise, Part 3" she attempts to take command of the Decepticons and tells the troops they may as well forget about Megatron and abandon the Earth. Her attempt to usurp authority is swiftly prevented and dealt with by Soundwave.
    • In an earlier example, she pulls this off with Starscream, ironically. Megatron wasn't too happy about it though.
  • Stupid Evil: Normally she's clever enough to stay out of this territory besides her inability to stop gloating before she wins, but towards the end of the first season, she slips into it. Mainly, trying to take command of the Decepticons and ditch Megatron while he was away. This ends with Soundwave giving her a smackdown.
  • This Is a Drill: She can arrange her legs into one of these, letting her tunnel through the ground with astonishing speed.
  • Torture Technician
  • Underestimating Badassery: One of her flaws is that she tends to underestimate the capabilities of her opponents (barring Arcee.
  • Villain Team-Up: With Silas in "Crisscross".

Skyquake

[15]

I am here on a mission assigned to me by my one master: Megatron.

Voiced by: Richard Green

Part of the Seekers, an elite Decepticon force, Skyquake is completely loyal and obedient to Megatron. Once sent to assassinate Optimus, he was later placed on Earth as a sleeper agent for when the time came to revive him.

Dreadwing

[16]

Then by the Pit, every last Autobot on this accursed world will pay.

Voiced by: Tony Todd

A Seeker as well and sharing a split spark with Skyquake, Dreadwing is similarly loyal to Megatron and came to Earth to seek revenge for his brothers' death. A powerful Decepticon warrior, he quickly rose through the ranks as First Lieutenant. Unique among Decepticons is that Dreadwing possesses a strong sense of honor, and his word is his absolute bond, even to his enemies. Though Dreadwing may hate Optimus Prime for the death of his brother, they deeply respect each other and have formed alliances for common causes of honor.

  • Affably Evil: He is a very polite and honorable individual with an unshakable sense of integrity. The only catch is that he's loyal to a genocidal maniac.
  • Avenging the Villain: One of the principal reasons he came to Earth was to avenge the death of his brother Skyquake. The other is to serve Megatron.
  • Backup Twin: Skyquake's twin brother, identical in appearance, but with a different voice actor.
  • Badass: He is the only Decepticon besides Megatron to go against Optimus Prime and not only hold his own, but ato lso survive the encounter.
  • BFG: Carries an enormous laser cannon with a chainsaw-style grip.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows
  • Booby Trap: He's a big fan of these.
  • The Brute: He took this role in his initial appearance, and while he wasn't bad at it per se he got promoted from this post pretty damn quickly.
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: He is a bit of a Wild Card in that he will pursue his own agenda and will disobey orders, but he's an excellent warrior and unlike Starscream, his loyalty is always towards Megatron.
  • Combat Pragmatist: His word may be his bond, but don't believe for a minute that that means he likes to fight fair otherwise.
  • Cool Plane: His vehicle mode is the same as his brother Skyquake's. It was even scanned from the same source (Fowler's jet).
  • Cool Sword: Revealed to have a collapsible sword.
  • Crazy Prepared: This guy has bombs located everywhere.
  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: Fully expects that Wheeljack would not ambush him alone, having placed a charge where Bulkhead was hiding. This leads to Bulkhead's near-death.
  • The Dragon: Officially promoted to First Lieutenant in his second episode.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He clearly loved his brother Skyquake, and avenging his death is his primary motivation for coming to Earth.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: He is a warrior first, and Decepticon second; Megatron doesn't kill him for keeping his word to Optimus because of his extreme competence as the former even though to Dreadwing, warfare is an affair of honor and not mindless murder.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: It's Tony Todd, what did you expect?
  • Graceful Loser: Another very un-Decepticon trait that Dreadwing posesses is an ironclad sense of gratitude. Twice already he has accepted truce with Optimus Prime being after having his life saved by him and fighting a common foe by his side. After all, reasons Dreadwing, betraying someone to whom you owe your life when he is at his weakest is the absolute lowest form of dishonor, one that no warrior should ever allow himself to sink to.
  • Hero-Killer: Revealed to have slagged Seaspray.
  • I Gave My Word: And he'll keep it, even to an Autobot.
  • Mad Bomber: Possesses a notable propensity for explosives, whether they be timed, proximity-based, attached directly to an Autobot's body... anything he doesn't shoot, he'll blow up with gusto.
  • Master Swordsman
  • My Master, Right or Wrong
  • Noble Demon: Optimus assumes that any brother of Skyquake will share his sense of honor. He's right, even if Dreadwing isn't as much a fan of fighting fair as his twin.
  • Palette Swap: Of his twin brother Skyquake. The 'Bots point this out when they get an aerial view of him.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: While this can also be attributed to his honorable nature, he won't Kick the Dog if it won't benefit his faction either. Case in point; in Triangulation he eventually agrees not to fight Optimus, after the Apex Armor has been lost to Starscream, after Optimus points out to do so would result in nothing good for either side.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning
  • Revenge: He seeks to avenge the death of his brother Skyquake at the hands of the Autobots. When he finds Starscream in "Triangulation", he is seconds away from killing him, due to Starscream being the one who led to Skyquake's death.
  • Robo-Family: The twin brother of Skyquake, born from a split Spark.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: While loyal, Dreadwing will only obey Megatron in as far as his code of morality allows him to, such as battling the Autobots to avenge Skyquake, disobeying Megatron's explicit orders not to rescue him, and keeping his word of honor to Autobots; the sort of behavior that Megatron would normally tear out your spark for.
  • The Starscream: Averted and lampshaded; Dreadwing is completely loyal to Megatron, who points out that Dreadwing will make a fine second-in-command after he disobeys orders.
  • Token Good Teammate: Like Breakdown and his brother Skyquake, it's Dreadwing's sense of honor that keeps him loyal to a genocidal maniac, not because he's a bad person.
  • Twin Telepathy: Was aware of his brother's awakening and death the moment it occurred, thanks to sharing a split spark with him.
  • Undying Loyalty: Like his brother, to Megatron.
  • Worthy Opponent: Optimus views him as one, and the feeling is sort of reciprocal.

Vehicons (or Eradicons)

[17]

Voiced by: Steve Blum, Kevin Michael Richardson, Frank Welker, Josh Keaton, Daran Norris

The basic Decepticon footsoldiers, they are basically a faceless mass who can be tough, but don't possess a lot of skill to properly challenge the Autobots despite their greater numbers. They come in three varieties, Miners who have two visors and are clearly smaller and lighter armed, Sports Cars who are more heavily armed and form the bulk of their forces, and the Aerial Fighters who transform into jets.

  • Airborne Mook: The jet Vehicons.
  • Arm Cannon
  • Conservation of Ninjitsu: The Vehicons first appearances from Darkness Rising showed one of them being strong enough to fight Bulkhead hand-to-hand, and prior, two of them being on the winning side of a battle against Arcee and Bumblebee until Bulkhead showed up to assist. As the series has gone on, they have still managed to get a few odd lucky hits in here and there, but with the Autobots continuously facing larger numbers of them, their overall combat effectiveness seems to have decreased somewhat.
  • Cool Car
  • Cool Plane: The space-faring variant's alt mode.
  • Cyber Cyclops
  • Evil Minions: Civilian-class Vehicons.
  • Faceless Goons
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: They're rather good with their fists, actually. They can even fight Bulkhead one-on-one, which really is saying something, since he's a good head taller than them and much bigger.
  • Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Not to say that they miss every time.
  • Kick the Dog: A few of them beat up Orion Pax and keep doing so despite his pleas for mercy. It didn't end well for them.
  • Mecha-Mooks
  • No Mouth
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning
  • What Measure Is a Mook?: There is no short supply of them to be beaten around by Megatron or Starscream or killed en masse by the Autobots, while there is some question as to how sentient they are; they are refered to as drones a few times but they seem to have personalities. In a later episode Optimus points out that they are interrogating a Vehicon Miner, who is not a soldier class and thus largely helpless and should be treated as such.
  • Winged Humanoid: The aerial Vehicons' only obvious difference from the ground Vehicons is the presence of a large pair of wings on their backs, as a consequence of their alt-mode wings.

Makeshift

Let's get this party started!

Voiced by: Kevin Michael Richardson, James Horan

A rare "shifter" Cybertronian, Makeshift is able to easily and quickly impersonate other Cybertronians in both appearance and voice. This makes him an excellent spy and infiltrator.

Terrorcons

With the use of Dark Energon, any Cybertronian corpse can be reanimated into these mindless abominations.

Insecticons

Voiced by: Steve Blum, Kevin Michael Richardson, Frank Welker

Basically Cybertronian animals, Insecticons are largely allied with the Decepticons and are often placed in stasis pods until they are awakened. They appear to be savage beasts incapable of higher thought process, but they reveal themselves able to speak later.

  • The Berserker: They are more like animals than the regular characters and when pointed to attack something, just one Insecticon is able to give Megatron a hard time.
    • And then Airachnid finds an army of them...
  • Big Creepy-Crawlies: With an altmode of a beetle.
  • Conservation of Ninjitsu: In their early appearances they proved to be exceptionally powerful, the sentry on Cybertron easily shrugged off Arcee's attacks and later Airachnid's Insecticon from Crossfire proves powerful enough to go one-on-one against Megatron, and wounds the Decepticon leader to the point of exhaustion before he is able to kill it. Come "Armada", where a swarm of them are present, and they go down with surprising ease.
    • In fairness, there is some details that justify it to a degree. Arcee is a light-fighter who trades strength and firepower for speed and mobility, and during "Crossfire", Megatron's fusion cannon was disabled as the fight commenced though he did shoot it once at point blank range, but that only served to knock it back. Come "Armada," Megatron's cannon was unrestrained and the Insecticons go down much easier in their flying beetle form than in their bipedal form.
  • Disney Villain Death: The Insecticon left behind as a sentry in Kaon, which dies when it gets its limbs chewed off by Scraplets and falls into the bowels of Vector Sigma's chamber.
  • Elite Mook: First seen in "Orion Pax, part 3". Whenever they show up, it becomes a much more difficult fight for the Autobots.
  • The Juggernaut: It says something that the one in "Crossfire" has to have its head cut off by Megatron to finally die.
  • Meteor Move: Airachnid's Insecticon pulls a uniquely vicious variation of this move on Megatron: It launches Megs into the air, flies after him and bloodily rips a chunk of his shoulder off with its mandibles in mid air, then strikes him once more and opens fire as he hits the floor.
  • More Teeth Than the Osmond Family
  • Off with His Head: How Megatron finishes off Airachnid's pet Insecticon.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: The eyes of an Insecticon are bright red.
  • Suddenly Voiced: At the end of "Armada" the remaining Insecticons swear loyalty to Megatron in actual speech instead of their usual shrieks.
  • Why Did It Have To Be Scraplets?: The Cybertron sentry from Orion Pax, Part 3 tries to flee in fear when it notices a swarm of Scraplets before it. Key word: tries.

Hardshell

Your spark is mine!

Voiced by: David Kaye

An intelligent Insecticon that Megatron selects to hunt down one of the Iacon relics.

  • Actor Allusion: Yeeesss...
    • This is not the first time that David Kaye has voiced a Decepticon that climbed out of a volcano to deal with the attacker that threw him in it. Granted, the first time was a Predacon, but there's pretty much no difference.
  • Asskicking Equals Authority: Stands above the others Insecticons by being the biggest, meanest, and toughest of the swarm.
  • Ax Crazy
  • Badass: He's able to fight Bulkhead one-on-one and not be killed when the big guy is going at full power. And he seems to have survived being exposed to Tox-En and being dumped into a volcano.
  • The Brute: Whether or not he will keep this post is unclear, given that we're not sure if he survived.
  • Determinator: Has shades of this throughout "Toxicity"; Bulkhead beats him up, maims him, shoves Tox-En in his face, and even throws him into a volcano, and yet he manages to come back swinging in spite of each setback.
  • Disney Villain Death: Bulkhead manages to deal with him by knocking him into a volcanic crater. Unfortunately for Bulkhead, Hardshell manages to climbout just in time to shoot him in the back as he's GroundBridging out.
  • Distinctive Appearances: To make him stand out from the regular rank and file Insecticons he has many large gashes in his armor and across his face.
  • Expy: Of the G1 Insecticon Bombshell.
  • Genre Savvy: When he realizes that Bulkhead had left a fake trail for them to follow, he correctly anticipates that Bulkhead would try to destroy the Tox-En in the volcano.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: The biggest visual difference between Hardshell and any other Insecticon is the series of scars running along his face and torso.
  • Guttural Growler
  • Hero-Killer: Mentioned to have killed some Wreckers in his time.
  • King Mook

The Nemesis

Voiced by: Kevin Michael Richardson

The Decepticon Warship gained a mind of its own when Megatron used the very unpredictable Dark Energon to repair its systems.

Humans

Jack Darby

I get it, the first rule of Robot Fight Club is no one talks about Robot Fight Club.

Voiced by: Josh Keaton

The main human protagonist, he was living a quiet life in a remote Nevada town until he accidently stumbled into a fight between Arcee and a couple of Vehicons. Young but level-headed, he often tends to be the voice of reason among humans and Autobots alike. He has no real exceptional skills to offer, but is ready and willing to step up to any challenge that has been presented.

  • Audience Surrogate
  • Badass Normal: Despite being a small, squishy human, he is able to use bravery and his wits to remain relevant in an engagement. As for specific examples:
    • He uses a fire-starting kit to ignite energon to destroy Airachnid's ship, steals Silas's radio to contact Fowler even while surrounded by armed men and Silas himself, manages to direct a swarm of Scraplets to take down an Insecticon and later tricked the sentient Nemesis into rebooting itself with some Deadly Dodging.
    • His tenacity and reliable nature is the reason Optimus chose him to hold the Key to Vector Sigma, knowing that Jack could handle the responsibility implied. It basically makes him an honorary Prime.
  • Cool Big Bro: Sometimes takes the role for Raf and Miko.
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Disappeared Dad
  • Expy: His voice actor and his social status at his school remind one of Peter Parker. His introduction to the Autobots and discovery of Arcee also have some parallels to Sam Witwicky.
  • Groin Attack: Does this to Silas in one of the comics.
  • Heroes Want Redheads/All Guys Want Cheerleaders: His main Love Interest is a schoolmate of his named Sierra, the redheaded captain of the cheerleading squad.
  • The Kirk
  • Nice Guy: Other than being a bit of a smart-mouth, he's overall pretty decent and mature for someone his age.
  • Not So Different: A rare positive example; Ratchet claims that Jack is pretty similar to Optimus in his youth.
  • Only Sane Man: He's the only one of the trio who seems to understand why being involved in giant robot battles is not necessarily as awesome as one might think.
    • He's even had to talk some sense into the Autobots at times.
  • Ordinary High School Student
  • Refusal of the Call: He refuses it the first time, but Miko's appearance forces the issue. He refuses it again after a rousing time dodging death and dismemberment aboard the Decepticon ship, but Arcee gets him to come back. His mom also pushed him into refusing the call, but by this point he stood his ground.
  • Team Pet: He's a human companion in a Transformers series. It comes with the territory. He's mainly Arcee's pet, but also Optimus's to a certain extent.

Miko Nakadai

Was there a fight? Can I come with next time?!

Voiced by: Tania Gunadi

An exchange student from Japan seeking to escape the boredom of a regimented schedule, she was initially wondering if Jasper, Nevada was really the place to escape from boredom. She loves being a part of this intergalactic war and desperately wants to join in on anything and everything related to it. She idolizes Bulkhead and sees him as the coolest bot on the team, often encouraging him to take more initiative.

  • Aesop Amnesia: No matter how many times she's told not to go flying out through the groundbridge and into danger, she ends up doing it. Her motives for doing so have improved from selfish to a misguided desire to help, however.
  • An Axe to Grind: Goes for the nearest fire axe whenever she's in a combat situation, whether the enemies be Decepticons or MECH mercenaries.
  • Break the Cutie: She is pretty well traumatized by the end of "Rock Bottom," though it doesn't seem to affect later episodes.
  • Catch Phrase: Suh-weet!
  • Character Development: Finally seems to have dropped her sneak tag along, Leeroy Jenkins habits since season 2 began.
  • Eyes of Gold
  • Expressive Hair: Noticeable in "Operation Bumblebee Part 1" when her pigtails visibly droop when they try to cheer Bumblebee up by turning on the TV just in time to see a commercial for the car Bumblebee takes his altmode from (he was stuck in a Shapeshifter Mode Lock at the time).
  • Expy: Personality-wise, it seems she's taken a few cues from Pepper Potts.
    • She's also a bit like Sari at times.
  • Genki Girl: She rationalizes this in the fourth episode as a result of strict upbringing. First chance she got, she took the exchange student gig for greener pastures. Nevada wasn't the best choice for that, but it worked out pretty well.
  • Girlish Pigtails: That stand on end when she's startled.
  • Ink Suit Actor: She's basically a CGI model of her voice actress.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's more than often rather pushy, selfish, and pays very little heed to others' advice, but would never abandon her friends (especially Bulkhead) willingly.
  • Jumped At the Call: "Dude, what are you waiting for?! Go with!"
  • Leeroy Jenkins: They should seriously consider putting a leash on the girl.
  • The Load: Mainly because of the Leeroy Jenkins behavior.
  • The McCoy
  • Naive Newcomer
  • Not a Game: The other characters keep trying to get her to understand this in regards to the Autobot-Decepticon war.
  • Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Tania Gunadi voices Miko using her normal voice, which means Miko is a Japanese exchange student who speaks with an Indonesian accent.
  • Plucky Comic Relief
  • Plucky Girl: Even if she's trapped in a cave and suffocating from the lack of fresh air, she does not quit.
  • Pretty Freeloader: Emphasis on "pretty", extra emphasis on "freeloader".
  • Reckless Sidekick: Very reckless. At least half a dozen incidents where characters were put in legitimate danger are due to her. By the second season, she has got better in her recklessness, but still seems to have a hard time understanding that a combat situation against Decepticons is not where she belongs (i.e. when she insisted on going with the 'Bots to capture and secure the Decepticon Space Bridge... in space).
  • Rose-Haired Girl: Though only partially.
  • Skunk Stripe: It's pink. The tips of her pigtails are as well.
  • Team Pet: Bulkhead's pet. She even lampshades it, commenting that a visiting Autobot needs to get his own [pet] human to really fit in.
  • Too Dumb to Live: She persists in involving herself in combat situations when she really shouldn't, including trying to bash a Vehicon with a rock while Bulkhead has it pinned (which considering said Vehicon has a head made of metal alloy far tougher than any on Earth, works about as well as could be expected). Jack calls her on this attitude the first chance he gets.
    • She is getting better as of "Flying Mind".
  • Twofer Token Minority: She's an exchange student from Japan and one of the few female characters.
  • Undying Loyalty: She really cares about her friendship with Bulkhead, even to the point of nearly suffocating herself in "Rock Bottom" to try to free him.
  • Why Did It Have To Be Spiders
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: She seems to think she is in a more lighthearted Transformers continuity.

Rafael "Raf" Esquivel

Miko: You know how to hack? But you're, like, two years old.
Raf: Twelve... and a quarter.

Voiced by: Andy Pessoa

The youngest of the human kids, he was present when Bumblebee came to aid Arcee against a group of Vehicons. Abnormally smart for his young age, he is still very young and easily overwhelmed. He grew up in a large family who rarely have time to listen to him, which is why he bonds so closely with the normally quiet Bumblebee.

  • Adorably Precocious Child: At times, Raf really shows his young age. In "Darkness Rising" his first scene was him playing with a toy car and making engine noises. In "Scrapheap", he talked about wanting to see snow and later was wandering around the base pretending he was in a blizzard.
  • Adorkable
  • All There in the Manual: "Raf's Notes" explains that even he doesn't know why Bumblebee makes sense to him, he just does. He also goes on to mention that it's probably the same reason he could understand computer code at age three. You can just hear the fan theories coming out... especially coming after Transformers Animated.
  • Anime Hair: Primus only knows how he keeps it like that.
  • Awesome Backpack
  • Badass Adorable: Despite being the youngest, smallest and weakest human physically, Raf has actually proven to be the most competent and reliable of the Autobots' human friends. His common sense usually keeps him out of trouble (for the most part; no human is ever completely out of trouble in a Transformers series), he's the most rational of the three humans, and his formidable computer skills and knowledge of human technology have proven invaluable to the Autobots so far. When Ratchet actually shows a little fondness for you and even admits that you're pretty much his only human friend, you must have done something right.
    • "Out Of His Head" deserves a mention for sheer badass. Raf attempts to take on Bumblebee, possessed by freaking Megatron while Megs is attempting to resurrect himself. Raf leaps onto the cable connecting Bumblebee to Megatron's body to try and rip it off. It doesn't actually work, but let's just repeat that Raf was willing to take on Megatron to save his friend. Dude's got bearings.
    • In "Triage", he creates a computer virus that beams the entirety of the Iacon Database from the Nemesis' computer to the Autobot base's computer, giving the Autobots an edge against the Decepticons.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Do not, under any circumstances, threaten Bumblebee in his presence. A scraplet learned that the hard way.
  • Blind Without'Em
  • Brown Eyes
  • Child Genius
  • Curtains Match the Window
  • Infant Immortality: Played straight, given the target audience, but really treads the line in averting it.
  • Nerd Glasses
  • Shorter Means Smarter
  • The Spock
  • Team Pet: Bumblebee's, and lately Ratchet's shown some fondness for him too, to the point that he actually picks him up from school when Bumblebee's T-Cog is taken and can't transform.
  • Techno Wizard
  • Translator Buddy: Bumblebee's, for the kids.
  • Vocal Evolution: His voice has noticeably deepened over the course of the series, most evidently in the season 2 opener. This is obviously due to Andy Pessoa's own voice deepening.

Special Agent William Fowler

Never an Autobot around when you actually need one!

Voiced by: Ernie Hudson

A human liason to the Autobots, Fowler's job is to monitor their activity and report back on issues of interest. Their agreement is to let the Autobots handle Decepticon activity, but at various points he has called on their help dealing with the dangerous MECH organization. Often grouchy, regardless he has a good deal of respect for Optimus, his team and the human kids, and has grown to trust them to make the right calls.

  • Ace Pilot: He may be retired, but he's still really good with a plane.
  • Badass Normal: He may just be a human, but he's able to withstand Decepticon torture for an unknown amount of time without cracking, not to mention dogfight Laserbeak in a Huey helicopter. He can also fly a jet without a flight suit, thanks to a cabin-pressure stabilizer that Rachet has built into the cockpit to keep his organs from exploding.
    • In "Nemesis Prime", he chooses to go into a battleground between Optimus and Nemesis Prime, sneaks into the MECH base (including knocking out at least three sentries), and fistfights Silas (while admitting he's out-of-shape) to buy Optimus time against his doppelganger.
  • Big Damn Heroes: In "Crisscross", he showed up with a bunch of Black Helicopters to save Arcee, Jack, and June from Airachnid.
  • Da Chief
  • Expy: Of Colonel Franklin from Cybertron.
  • Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: He tries it on a MECH mook when standing on top of Optimus' altmode. The mook hits a branch and presumably dies.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Most of the time, he's yelling at Optimus about whatever new incident is going down (often misblaming them for it), and when conversing with Bumblebee, he started talking slower as though Bumblebee couldn't understand him. However, he's a valued ally and friend to the Autobots and he grows fond of the kids, even showing a great deal of respect to Jack's mom.
    • To be fair, working with Team Prime is an incredibly stressful job at the best of times and said "new incidents" have a chance of extreme collateral damage.
  • The Men in Black
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He once tries to provide backup to Optimus and Bumblebee when Skyquake is fighting them. They have the fight under control when he arrives, however, and as a result, Skyquake gains a vehicle mode. And his Big Damn Heroes moment gives Airachnid a vehicle mode too, but it's that or allow Airachnid to kill Arcee, Jack and June. By the time it happens again when he tries to attack Dreadwing, it seems as though it's become a full-on Running Gag.

Agent Fowler: Oh, not this again!

  • Non Sequitur Thud: Tends to do this after electrical shocks. Usually mentions his grandmother. Even ends up referencing LOLcats at one point.
  • Ranger: Mentions he was one during his fistfight with Silas in "Nemesis Prime".
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Whilst he may become frustrated at some of the consequences that having warring alien robots on Earth can bring (specifically, about keeping the whole ordeal secret and whether further government intervention would be required should things escalate), he still takes on board what the Autobots have to say, gives them free rein to deal with the Decepticons their own way (without human casualties), and will readily assist them if they need it.
  • Retired Badass: Used to be a US Army Ranger, and had some pilot training too given his comments while flying his jet.
  • Running Gag: The vehicles he's piloting/riding in tend to get scanned by Decepticons who desperately need an Earth alternate-mode a lot.
  • Scary Black Man: Downplayed, but he gets his moments.

June Darby

Voiced by: Markie Post

Jack's mom, she works as a nurse at the local hospital and has raised Jack ever since his father left. Because of that, she raised Jack to be very responsible in his schoolwork, job and friendships, but is still very concerned for his safety. She was initially kept out of the loop, not fully realizing where Jack's motorcycle came from, but eventually came to see the full scope of events her son is involved with.

  • Broken Masquerade: Jack tried to tell her the truth once, only for Arcee not to cooperate and she figured he was joking around. Being taken captive by MECH and witnessing Arcee and Airachnid duking it out, she caught on pretty quick.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: She's a nurse, which just seems like a fill-in job title. She keeps Raf alive long enough for Ratchet to figure out how to rig a permanent solution.
  • Hospital Hottie
  • Hot Mom: She looks like she's only in her mid-to-late 20's instead of the mother of a teenager.
  • My Beloved Smother: She has her moments of this, especially after she learns about how her son has spent several months involved in a war between giant alien robots.
    • This also crops up after Megatron nearly kills Raf. She initially tries to cut herself and the children off from the Autobots entirely, but is later convinced of the Autobots' willingess to help humanity. Like mother, like son, it seems.
  • Secret Keeper: As of "Crisscross", she now knows of the Transformers' existence and Jack's involvement with them.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Calls all the Bots out after Megatron nearly kills Raf for the reason that they were careless enough to drag three children into the war.
    • And again in part 1 of "Orion Pax", when Ratchet reveals they will have to send Jack into space (Cybertron, to be precise) to access Vector Sigma, where she and Fowler ask why Jack specifically has to go.

Sierra

Voiced by: Alexandra Krosney

A classmate of Jack (and by extension, Miko and Raf), she didn't really pay him much mind until he talked with her while on his motorcycle. Unaware of Jack's involvement with alien robots, they've had a few hiccups as they grow closer together.

Silas

There'a a war brewing between the new world order and the newest. The victor will be the side armed with the most innovative technology.

Voiced by: Clancy Brown

The leader of the advanced technological rogues calling themselves MECH, he is a steely individual with the scars to prove his life experiences. He was resolving to make guerilla attacks to acquire advanced military hardware, at least until his first encounter with the Cybertronians. Now his ultimate goal is to unlock their technological secrets and use it for his own nefarious purposes.

Vince

Not bad for a pedal car.

Voiced By: Brad Raider

Jasper, Nevada's resident Jerkass, Vince is a bully who takes part in illegal street races. Has his eye on Sierra, much to the annoyance of Jack.

  • Expy: Surely you noticed the similarity to Guy Gardner?
  • Jerkass
  • Mistaken Identity: Knock Out mistakes him for Bumblebee's partner, knocks him out, and kidnaps him. Hilarity Ensues as the Autobots try to rescue him. Vince never finds out what really happened.
  • Redheaded Bully
  • Ungrateful Bastard: The closest Jack gets to a thank you is a derogatory remark about Bumblebee (who Jack was riding in at the time). Bumblebee reciprocates by kicking a load of dust up in his face.

General Bryce

Please explain why we haven't been served Megatron's steel head on a silver platter?

Voiced By: Robert Forster

Agent Fowler's superior and good friend.

  • Expy: Fans noticed that his visual appearance and midwest US accent is similar to Captain Fanzone, the local human authority in Transformers Animated.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Is the next up in the chain of command, and although he may be skeptical of the Autobots' good intentions he is friendly with Agent Fowler, calling him "Bill."

Vogel

Voiced By: John Dimaggio

A construction worker who appears in "Tunnel Vision" and plays a fairly major part towards the end of the episode.

Other

Unicron

I... Awaken.

Voiced By: John Noble

An ancient evil, a mechanical god of sorts who possesses a rivalry with his counterpart Primus. Defeated eons ago, his influence continues to the present day and is a force that couldn't care less about the Autobot/Decepticon conflict.

  • Abusive Precursors: As Optimus puts it he is, metaphorically speaking, the parent of humanity and all life on Earth. He agrees with Optimus on this, and then declares us all parasites unworthy of living.
  • Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Optimus believes that since Unicron's initial defeat, he's "transcended physical existence".
  • Badass Boast: Unicron is power incarnate. among others.
  • Bigger Bad
  • Cain and Abel: With Primus.
  • Demonic Possession: Does it to Megatron, albeit after a LOT of effort. And by the time he does, he's too late to stop Optimus from unleashing the Matrix against him.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: After losing a battle with Primus, he was left to be trapped in the center of the Earth where he plans to destroy humanity and their civilization. Sound familiar?
  • Eldritch Abomination: He's as old as time itself. His blood's properties can resurrect the dead as berserker zombies, power up a Transformer, possibly kill a human with exposure, weaken some Transformers if they are exposed to too much, and allow one to hear the thoughts of Unicron himself and see the future. If that's just his blood, can the rest of him do?
    • Earth formed around him. That's what.
  • Evil Counterpart: To his brother, Primus. And the parallels are even stronger in this universe than they usually are. Both of them are responsible for the survival and possible creations of a planet, Earth for Unicron, and Cybertron for Primus, respectively. The difference being, that Primus willingly allowed his spark to become one with Cybertron's core and created the Well of [AllSparks] to spawn new generations of Cybertronians, whereas Earth formed around Unicron's body whilst he was in stasis, and the creation of the planet and its inhabitants was completely unintentional and unwanted on Unicron's part.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: As is tradition.
  • Fantastic Racism: Views humans as parasites.
  • Fighting a Shadow: Since Unicron is the Earth, he can form countless copies of himself from surface materials; the Autobots can destroy as many of those as they can, but Unicron will survive.
  • Fluffy the Terrible: His name is distressingly similar to something very, very different, and more than one character has mixed them up.
  • The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: The few times he isn't looking at someone, he's staring straight at the camera, as if he's very aware the people outside the TV are watching him.
  • Genius Loci: As is tradition, but Prime adds a special twist: Unicron is Earth, the planet having formed around his remains. He exists as a spirit which can control the minerals in the ground to form copies of his original body.
  • Giant Mook: Even the regular stone copies of Unicron are larger than the average Transformer, but in addition to these, Unicron is also capable of forming skyscraper-sized versions of himself that are much, much harder to take down.
  • God Is Evil: Since he is the parent of humanity and all life on earth he counts as this.
  • God of Evil
  • Hive Mind/I Am Legion: Unicron can make multiple versions of his old body that are all share a single, unified mind, and thus at least seem to talk in complete unison.
  • Knight of Cerebus: He is the God of Evil for Cybertronians, this really shouldn't be surprising. Notably, however, his introduction saw the show go for longer story arcs rather than the stand-alone episodes it had done before.
  • Large Ham: He's not a Motor Mouth, but when he speaks, he can go on and his voice has a magnificent sense of gravitas.
  • Mook Maker: Since Unicron is the Earth itself, he's capable of spawning apparently infinite stone copies of his original body from the ground. That's right, the whole damn PLANET is his Mook Maker, and all the mooks ARE Unicron.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: As is tradition.
  • Physical God: Sort of. He's implied to have been once been this, before Primus and the Thirteen Primes handed him his arse. Has now gone past this.
  • Robo-Family: Not mentioned in-series but he's the brother of Primus.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: Completely unintentionally. After his defeat at the dawn of time, the entire planet Earth naturally formed around him over billions of years.
  • Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale: For once in this franchise, averted. Unicron is Earth itself, making him truly planet-sized for the first time.
  • Spikes of Villainy: All over his body.

Primus

An ancient god of Creation, he is a deity and ancestor of all Cybertronians. Locked in a perpetual stalemate with his counterpart Unicron, defeated him by creating the Thirteen Primes. Once peace was established he merged with the core of Cybertron, giving life to the planet by providing an abundance of energon. The war corrupted his core, forcing him to shut down for millions of years to repair the damage and he bestowed the Matrix of Leadership to Optimus for safekeeping.

The Thirteen Original Primes

Powerful creations of Primus who tipped the balance in the battle against Unicron. They are responsible for the creation of Cybertronian society and their unique qualities can be seen among their descendants.

  • Action Girl: Solus Prime.
  • Big Good: Prima.
  • Drop the Hammer: Solus Prime.
  • Fallen Hero: Megatronus Prime, after killing Solus Prime. He was from then on known as The Fallen.
  • Heroes Prefer Swords: Prima, Vector Prime.
  • I Choose to Stay: After the construction of the Ark, Alpha Trion decided not to go with Optimus, but to stay behind on Cybertron and watch over the Hall of Records.
  • Internal Homage: Megatron named himself after Megatronus Prime. Also known as The Fallen.
  • The Obi-Wan: Alpha Trion, for Orion/Optimus.
  • Retcon: One of the more surprising ones amongst the franchise. Alpha Trion was revealed to be a member of the Thirteen for this universe, meaning he's also supposedly a Multiversal Singularity (meaning there's only truly one of him across every Transformers continuity). This provides somewhat of a problem for him more than other members of the Thirteen, since he has actually had an evil Mirror Universe counterpart, who actually fought against Nexus Prime, another member of the Thirteen. This apparent contradiction has resulted in classifying only the Prime Alpha Trion as one of the Thirteen, and stating that the Prime universe is not part of the previous Transformers Multiverse. Whether this makes thing more or less confusing is up for debate.
  • Robo-Family: Certain members of The Thirteen ended up having a few descendants. Prima's lineage includes those with a "Primian polarity", among whom Optimus is included and Amalgamous Prime's descendants became known as "shifters", which includes Makeshift.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Vector Prime's disgust with Liege Maximo plotting against the other Primes was too much for him, so he left reality for a pocket dimension.
  • Shape Shifter: Amalgamous Prime, ancestor of the "shifter" breed which includes Makeshift.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Solus Prime is the only female Prime. Although adding to that, she's also the very first female Cybertronian to exist.
  • The Trickster: Amalgamous Prime.

Scraplets

Tiny, metal termites who love living metal and are incredibly destructive wherever they go.

Nemesis Prime

I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, and I bring you this message: *blam*

Voiced by: Peter Cullen, Clancy Brown

A great breakthrough for MECH research, Nemesis Prime is a near perfect copy of Optimus Prime and controlled by a human interface.

  • Evil Knockoff
  • Eyes of Gold
  • Feel No Pain: Silas mentions this as an advantage over Optimus.
  • In-Series Nickname: Miko just picks the name "Nemesis Prime" out of nowhere.
  • Remote Body: Is controlled via remote control by Silas.
  • Something They Would Never Say: Silas attempts to use Nemesis to trick Bumblebee into believing it is the real Optimus. The ruse fails after about 10 seconds, when Silas proves unable to understand Bumblebee's method of communication ("I'm sorry, what?").
  • The Undead: While not a character that's brought back from the dead, its appearance certainly seems to try and invoke this, mainly due to the rusting appearance and darker colours.
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  8. ↑ Drift is a G1 character from the IDW comics who has trouble with authority and wields a curved sword. While not really a badly written character, he was considered overhyped before his debut and calculated to be as cool of a character as popular, hence the Japanese inspired sword and some Kanji on his vehicle mode.
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